SEC Welcomes Caribbean Economist and Advisor for Caribbean American Heritage Month

In celebration of Caribbean American Heritage Month, the SEC’s Caribbean American Heritage Committee and the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion hosted a talk with Marla Dukharan, an economist and expert advisor on the Caribbean.

“It is a huge honor for me to have been invited to talk to you all,” Dukharan said. “The fact that the SEC has a Caribbean Heritage Committee tells me that the SEC understands the importance of lifting minority voices, and so I congratulate the SEC for its inclusiveness, progressiveness and fairness.”

Dukharan walked the participants through three main sources of unfairness that people in the Caribbean are subjected to: gender discrimination, racism, and climate catastrophe. Women, she explained, are paid less for the same work, even up to 50 percent less, and are still expected to shoulder the burden of both child care and elder care. Because of this, a woman in the Caribbean with a 40-year career earns more than $332,000 less than a man would over that same period. “If given the opportunity to participate in the economy,” she noted, “women could lift the world out of its morass. If the gender gap in the developing world was closed, poverty could end within five years. It also would add the size of the U.S. and Chinese economies combined to the global economy.”

The Caribbean has a history of subjugation by colonial powers, Dukharan noted, and economic subjugation is an issue that continues to affect the entire region. She explained that when a country is blacklisted, it puts a reputational stain on the country as a whole and inhibits tourism. She said that blacklisted countries tend to be predominantly non-white in origin, and residents are negatively impacted because the designation decreases their ability to trade or conduct wire transfers. Some countries are put on watch lists for money laundering, but the criminal activity continues as the perpetrators simply move to cash-based transfers instead.

Dukharan is a native of Trinidad and currently resides in Barbados. She said she can no longer surf because there’s too much seaweed that washes ashore each day, clogging both the beaches and the sea. ”We are perpetually traumatized by the rising frequency of climate catastrophes,” she explained. “The countries that are used to hurricanes are prepared for it. These countries [in my region] are not, and an increasing amount of money is being diverted to post-disaster reclamation efforts.”

There are opportunities to affect positive change in the region, she said. In terms of gender parity, “Look at your policy framework and see how you can support women and families. A disproportionate burden is laid on women and we need to find a way to support them.” On racism, she encouraged people to reach out to their legislators and amplify their voices. On climate, she said, “It’s very important to be extremely mindful in the way that we live our lifestyles. Not only on food, but what kind of car you drive, its fuel source, how that fuel is delivered, all these make a difference. Absent net-zero by 2050, the climate crisis will only worsen and nobody will be spared the fallout.”

SEC Chair Gary Gensler gave opening remarks at the event. “The U.S. Caribbean Heritage Month started in 2006, and this is the 17th time that we officially recognize the contributions Caribbean Americans have made to this country and the close ties between the U.S. and those nations,” he said. “We at the SEC work every day to make it a place where we can be ourselves. We want to celebrate the various histories, stories and cultures to make this agency as inclusive as possible.”

A recording of the event is available.